�So where else are you taking me tonight?�
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Tenshi hadn�t planned on taking Neko anywhere else this evening, but she jumped at the opportunity when Neko presented it to her. So on the way home, she stopped at Fruits Parlor Crown. It was getting late, but they managed to just sneak in before they closed for the evening.
�Tenshi-chan, Neko-chan! How nice to see you here,� Unazuki said as they sat down. �You two look especially nice tonight.�
Tenshi smiled charmingly at her. �Thank you, Unazuki-san.� Unazuki started to give them menus when Tenshi put up a hand. �I�ll make it really easy on you. All we need is a big piece of mud pie and two spoons.�
�Coming right up!�
Neko was wrinkling her nose at Tenshi�s order. �Mud pie? Doesn�t sound too good,� she pointed out.
Tenshi laughed. �It�s better than it sounds. Trust me.�
�Okay,� Neko agreed. �The girl who knew us, who is she?�
�Furuhata Unazuki. She and her husband own the Fruits Parlor Crown, and her brother owns the arcade downstairs.�
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Having enlightened Neko, Tenshi concentrated back on their date. �Ne, Koneko, I�m sorry about the play. I didn�t think about how hard it might be for you with the English.�
�Oh, no,� Neko�s eyes widened, �I liked it!� She blushed at her exclamation and continued modestly, �I didn�t know I knew that much English, so it was nice to realize I understood things they said, even if it was kinda hard to understand the structure. But I really like the story and the characters. It was fun.�
�I�m glad,� Tenshi told her sincerely.
Neko smiled happily, thinking about the play. She had found the whole story quite entertaining with all the cases of mistaken identity and confused love (that was not her own). �I think I like Viola the best. I liked her character, her situation, and how she handled it.�
�Well, she had the deepest emotions. No one else in the story, except maybe Malvolio, had any feelings that seemed real. Most people think only her love was true, while Orsino, Olivia, and Sebastian all were very superficial. Sebastian certainly had no feelings involved in his situation, and Orsino and Olivia just changed the objects of their affection when it was convenient.�
�That�s not true,� Neko objected. Tenshi looked at her in surprise. �Olivia did change from Viola to Sebastian, but she had fallen in love with Cesario, who was just Viola acting as a guy. But Viola�s mannerisms and maleness were probably picked up from her interaction with her twin brother. So when Olivia fell in love with Cesario, she was getting a mix of Viola and Sebastian. Her change to Viola�s brother is not so farfetched when you keep that in mind.�
�And Orsino?� Tenshi asked curiously.
�True, he was going after Olivia until the end when he realized that she was taken and Cesario was Viola, but his switch isn�t without emotion either. It was obvious that he was growing steadily fonder of Viola as the play went on. He might have fallen in love with her earlier, but he didn�t know he was allowed to, so he was unwilling to even entertain the possibility�.�
Neko stopped and looked away. Here she was on a date with a girl, and she was actually enjoying herself. She had nothing to talk about concerning Orsino�s �forbidden� attraction to Cesario.
Luckily, Unazuki came with the strange dessert Tenshi had ordered for them. Neko examined it. It didn�t look like anything that should be called mud. She cautiously picked up her spoon and waited for Tenshi to take a bite.
Tenshi chuckled. �It won�t kill you,� she promised as she took a spoonful. Neko followed suit, and took a small bite.
She melted. �This is divine,� she moaned. �What is it?�
�Coffee ice cream, chocolate ice cream, Oreo crust, and fudge,� Tenshi explained.
�They shouldn�t call it �mud pie.� They should call it ambrosia. You�re good at this, Tenshi-kun� Neko said, taking another bite. �You can order for me anytime.� She truly thought that it was the best thing she had ever experienced in her life. She couldn�t imagine anything more heavenly.
She glanced up at Tenshi, who apparently had decided that Neko could have the whole thing and put down her spoon. She seemed to merely enjoying watching Neko take pleasure in it. Neko�s eyes connected hers ever so briefly, and she felt herself fill with butterflies, beating their wings up against her heart. She suddenly wasn�t sure she could finish this delicious dessert alone.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Tenshi walked Neko to the door of her house, unsure of where to go from here. This was it, the last few moments of the only date she was ever guaranteed to have with Neko again.
�Tenshi-kun,� Neko said softly. �I really did have a good time.�
A bright smile broke out on Tenshi�s face. �Me too. Do you think we could maybe do this again sometime?�
Neko looked into her eyes, and suddenly Tenshi found her heart beating much too loudly. Ba-dum! Ba-dum! Could Neko hear her heart�s betrayal of how much this meant to her?
If Neko did, she didn�t let on. �I think I would like that.�
Tenshi almost couldn�t believe what she was hearing. �You would?� she whispered.
Neko nodded, her gleaming eyes never leaving Tenshi�s. They were so close to one another. Tenshi was overcome with an overwhelming urge to kiss her, and Neko seemed to sense it. Maybe it was wishful thinking on Tenshi�s part, but Neko almost seemed to be leaning even closer for that kiss. And Tenshi wanted nothing more than to give her one.
But she caught herself before acting on those emotions. That�s how she had gotten in trouble in the first place. And Neko hadn�t actually given her permission yet. If she read the signs wrong, she�d lose her forever.
So she backed off, literally. �Well, have a good night, Koneko.�
In a matter of seconds, Neko�s face changed. The starry-eyed look she had had just a moment before melted into one of anger and confusion. She threw the roses back at Tenshi and ran into the house. �Goodnight,� she said angrily before slamming the door in Tenshi�s face.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Chibi and Kimahou had already gone to bed, but Mi-chan had waited up for her all night. She now sat on the stairs, petting Morpheus as he tried to calm her worries over the date.
And she apparently had had good reason to worry. Neko had just come in quite furious. But as she turned toward the stairs and Mi-chan got a look at her face, she could swear Neko was close to tears.
�It didn�t go well?� she asked apprehensively.
�It went perfectly!� Neko cried as she ran past her troubled twin and into their room.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
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